Method and system for reduction of unwanted gases in indoor air

ABSTRACT

Some embodiments of the disclosure are directed to an air treatment system, and corresponding methodology, for at least partially removing at least one gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air of a room structured for human occupants. In some embodiments, the system may comprise an air treatment assembly having an indoor air inlet configured to receive indoor airflow directly from a room, a regenerable adsorbent material configured to adsorb at least one gaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, at least one airflow element for directing the indoor airflow to flow through the air treatment assembly, an indoor air outlet for expelling the indoor air, from the air treatment assembly back into the room, a purge air inlet configured to receive and direct purge air from the room over and/or through the adsorbent material for removal of at least a portion of the at least one gaseous contaminant, and a purge air outlet for expelling the purge air out of the air treatment assembly.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/159,825, entitled “Method and System for Reduction of UnwantedGases in Indoor Air,” filed May 11, 2015, which is incorporated byreference herein in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments of the present disclosure generally relate to apparatuses,systems and methods for reducing unwanted gases from indoor air.

BACKGROUND

Indoor air within and around enclosed environments, such as buildings,vehicles and structures, is affected by a plurality of substancescomprising contaminants. Among these contaminants, often with thehighest concentration, is carbon dioxide (CO₂). There are othercontaminants which may appear in relatively lower concentrations yet areno less important to monitor and/or reduce. A class of such contaminantsis a group of species of organic vapors, broadly referred to as VolatileOrganic Compounds (VOC). Contaminating gases (e.g., CO₂) and VOCs, andcorresponding vapors thereof, may collectively be referred to as a“gas(es)”. The sources of these contaminants include, inter alia, thehuman occupants themselves—from respiration and perspiration to clothingand cosmetics—as well as building materials, equipment, food andconsumer products, cleaning materials, office supplies or any othermaterials which emit VOCs. Other classes of contaminants are inorganiccompounds and microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, mold, fungi andairborne particles. Additional gaseous contaminants may be sulfuroxides, nitrous oxides, radon, or carbon monoxide.

SUMMARY OF DISCLOSURE

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, systems andmethods are described for maintaining good air quality in an enclosedenvironment. According to some embodiments, the good air quality may bemaintained by an air treatment system configured for maintaining atleast one gaseous contaminant concentration contained in indoor air ofthe enclosed environment below a predetermined gaseous contaminantconcentration.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, there isdescribed an air treatment system for at least partially removing atleast one gaseous contaminant contained in indoor air of an enclosedenvironment. In some embodiments, the system comprises an air treatmentassembly that includes an indoor air inlet configured to receive indoorairflow from the enclosed environment, a regenerable adsorbent materialconfigured to adsorb at least one gaseous contaminant contained in theindoor airflow, and an indoor air outlet configured for expelling theindoor air treated by the adsorbent material from the air treatmentassembly back into the room. In some embodiments, the assembly alsocontains a purge air inlet or purge valve, wherein the purge air inletcomprising or optionally separate from the indoor air inlet, the purgeair inlet or valve configured during a regeneration mode to direct airfrom the enclosed environment over and/or through the adsorbent materialas a purging air flow for removal of at least a portion of the at leastone gaseous contaminant adsorbed by the adsorbent material. In someembodiments, the assembly further comprises an outlet configured forexpelling the purging airflow from the air treatment assembly to anexternal environment. In some embodiments, the air treatment assemblycontains a controller system configured to allow at least one of flow ofthe indoor airflow in the indoor air inlet, the adsorption of the atleast one gaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, and/orthe expulsion of the indoor air treated by the adsorbent material duringan adsorption mode of the air treatment system back into the enclosedenvironment, and flow of the purging airflow over and/or through theadsorbent material, and/or the expulsion of the purging air from the airtreatment assembly to the external environment during the regenerationmode.

In some embodiments, an air treatment system comprising an air treatmentassembly and a controller system is disclosed. The air treatmentassembly may include one or more air inlets configured to receiveairflow from an enclosed environment; a regenerable adsorbent material;at least one airflow element for directing the airflow to flow throughthe air treatment assembly; an indoor air outlet for expelling theairflow, treated by the regenerable adsorbent material, from the airtreatment assembly; and a purge air outlet for expelling a purgingairflow out of the air treatment assembly. In some embodiments, the airtreatment system is configured to operate cyclically in at least twomodes, an adsorption mode wherein: a first air inlet of the one or moreair inlets is configured to receive indoor airflow from the enclosedenvironment, and the regenerable adsorbent material is configured toadsorb at least one gaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow,and a regeneration mode wherein: a second air inlet of the one or moreair inlets is configured to receive indoor airflow as the purgingairflow, the purging airflow configured to regenerate the regenerableadsorbent material by removing at least a portion of the at least onegaseous contaminant adsorbed by the regenerable adsorbent material. Insome embodiments, the controller system is configured for controlling atleast the cyclic operation of the adsorption mode and the regenerationmode cycle by controlling the at least one airflow element.

In some embodiments, the second air inlet may be the same as the firstair inlet. In other embodiments, the first air inlet and the second airinlet may join to form a single air inlet for receiving indoor airflowinto the air treatment assembly. Further, the indoor air outlet may beconfigured to expel the treated airflow into the enclosed environment.

In some embodiments, the air treatment system may further comprise aclosed loop return path for connecting the purge air outlet to thesecond air inlet so that at least a portion of the expelled purgingairflow re-enters the air treatment assembly via the second air inlet.In such embodiments, the air treatment system may further include one ormore sensors for measuring a concentration of gaseous contaminant in theexpelled purging airflow, wherein an amount of the portion of theexpelled purging airflow is determined by the controller system based ona measurement of the one or more return path sensors. In addition, theair treatment system may further include a return path airflow element,wherein the controller system is configured to control the amount of theportion of the expelled purging airflow using the return path airflowelement.

In some embodiments, the air treatment system may further comprise afan-coil unit operationally coupled to the air treatment assembly andlocated within or adjacent to the enclosed environment, wherein theindoor air outlet is configured to expel the treated airflow so as todirect the treated airflow into or towards the fan-coil unit. Inaddition, the air treatment system may also include an air handling unit(AHU) operationally coupled to the air treatment assembly and configuredto at least one of heat and cool the treated airflow, wherein the indoorair outlet is configured to expel the treated airflow so as to directthe treated airflow into or towards the AHU. The AHU may also beconfigured to at least one of heat and cool the treated air, wherein theair treatment assembly is arranged within AHU.

In some embodiments, the air treatment system may also include one ormore sensors for measuring a concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or detecting a presence of the at least one gaseouscontaminant, wherein the one or more sensors are configured to generatea signal corresponding to the concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or the presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant,and transmit the signal to the controller system. The at least oneairflow element may comprise at least one of a fan, a blower, a damperand a shutter. In some embodiments, the air treatment system may furthercomprise a heat source for heating the purging airflow, the heat sourceselected from the group consisting of: a heat pump, a furnace, solarheat, an electrical coil and hot water. In some embodiments, the airtreatment assembly may be configured as a portable unit. In someembodiments, the air treatment system may have a heat exchangerconfigured to transfer heat from the purging airflow exiting the airtreatment assembly to an indoor air incoming as a fresh purging airflow.

In some embodiments, the gaseous contaminant may be selected from thegroup consisting of: carbon dioxide, volatile organic compounds,formaldehyde, sulfur oxides, radon, ozone, nitrous oxides and carbonmonoxide. Further, the adsorbent material may include at least one of:activated carbon, carbon particles, solid amines, solid supported amine,molecular sieves, porous silica, porous alumina, carbon fibers, metalorganic frameworks, porous polymers and polymer fibers.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an air treatment systemcomprising: an air treatment assembly is disclosed. The air treatmentassembly is configured to include an indoor air inlet configured toreceive indoor airflow from an enclosed environment; a regenerableadsorbent material configured to adsorb at least one gaseous contaminantcontained in the indoor airflow; an indoor air outlet for expelling theindoor airflow treated by the adsorbent material from the air treatmentassembly back into the enclosed environment; a purge air inletconfigured to receive and direct indoor air from the enclosedenvironment over and/or through the adsorbent material as a purgingairflow for removing at least a portion of the at least one gaseouscontaminant adsorbed by the adsorbent material; a purge air outlet forexpelling the purging airflow out of the air treatment assembly, and aheat exchanger configured to transfer heat from the purging airflowexiting the air treatment assembly to an indoor air incoming as a freshpurging airflow.

In some embodiments, the configuration of the heat exchanger is selectedfrom the group consisting of: a shell and tube configuration, an aircoil configuration, a plate configuration, a counter-flow configurationand a fin configuration. In addition, the heat exchanger is furtherconfigured to allow the exiting purging airflow to combine with theincoming purging airflow.

In some embodiments, the air treatment system may further comprise: anincoming purging airflow conduit for transferring incoming purgingairflow from the heat exchanger to the air treatment assembly, and anexhausted purging airflow conduit for transferring exiting purgingairflow from the air treatment assembly to the heat exchanger. It mayalso include one or more sensors for measuring a concentration ofgaseous contaminant in the airflow, wherein the heat exchanger isconfigured to allow the exiting purging airflow to combine with theincoming purging airflow based on a measurement of the one or moresensors.

In some embodiments, an air treatment method comprising one or moresteps is disclosed. The steps include: receiving indoor airflow from anenclosed environment through an indoor air inlet; directing the indoorairflow by at least one airflow element to flow through a regenerableadsorbent material; adsorbing, during an adsorption mode, at least onegaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow by the regenerableadsorbent material; expelling the indoor airflow treated by theadsorbent material via an indoor air outlet; receiving and directing,during a regeneration mode, indoor air as an incoming purging airflowover and/or through the adsorbent material for removal of at least aportion of the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbed by theadsorbent material; expelling the purging airflow out of the adsorbentmaterial; and controlling at least an operation of the adsorption modeand/or the regeneration mode by controlling at least one airflowelement.

In some embodiments, the incoming purging airflow may be received anddirected over and/or through the adsorbent material via the indoor airinlet. In yet some embodiments, the incoming purging airflow may bereceived and directed over and/or through the adsorbent material via apurging airflow inlet separate from the indoor air inlet. The steps mayfurther include the step of returning at least a portion of the expelledpurging airflow back into the incoming purging airflow via a closed loopreturn path configured to connect the expelled purging airflow with theincoming purging airflow. In addition, the expelled indoor airflowtreated by the adsorbent material may be transferred to a fan-coil unitlocated within or adjacent to the enclosed environment. In someembodiments, the expelled indoor airflow treated by the adsorbentmaterial may be transferred to an air handling unit (AHU) configured toat least one of heat and cool the treated airflow.

In some embodiments, the steps of the method may be further comprisemeasuring a concentration of the at least one gaseous contaminant and/ordetecting a presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant with one ormore sensors, and transmitting a signal generated by the one or moresensors and corresponding to the concentration of the at least onegaseous contaminant and/or the presence of the at least one gaseouscontaminant to a controller system. In addition, the method may includethe step of facilitating thermal communication of the expelled purgingairflow with the incoming purging airflow so as to effect transfer ofheat between the expelled purging airflow and the incoming purgingairflow. Further, the method may comprise the step of heating thepurging airflow using a heat source selected from the group consistingof: a heat pump, a furnace, solar heat, an electrical coil and hotwater.

In some embodiments of the method, the gaseous contaminant may beselected from the group consisting of: carbon dioxide, volatile organiccompounds, formaldehyde, sulfur oxides, radon, ozone, nitrous oxides andcarbon monoxide. The adsorbent material may comprise at least one of:activated carbon, carbon particles, solid supported amine, molecularsieves, porous silica, porous alumina, carbon fibers, metal organicframeworks, porous polymers and polymer fibers. In addition, the atleast one airflow element may comprise at least one of a fan, a blower,a damper and a shutter.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The principals and operations of the systems, apparatuses and methodsaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure may be betterunderstood with reference to the drawings, and the followingdescription. These drawings are given for illustrative purposes only andare not meant to be limiting.

FIGS. 1A-D are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.1A), a second operational mode (FIGS. 1B and D), and one of the twooperational modes (FIG. 1C) according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure;

FIGS. 1E-H are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air including a variety of inletmechanisms for allowing indoor air into the system.

FIGS. 2A-C are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.2A) and a second operational mode (FIGS. 2B and 2C) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 3A-C are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.3A) and a second operational mode (FIGS. 3B and 3C) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 4A-C are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.4A) and a second operational mode (FIGS. 4B and C) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIGS. 5A-C are simplified schematic illustrations of a system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air at a first operational mode (FIG.5A) and a second operational mode (FIGS. 5B and C) according to someembodiments of the present disclosure;

FIG. 6 is a simplified schematic illustration of a portable system forreducing unwanted gases in indoor air according to some embodiments ofthe present disclosure;

FIG. 7 is a simplified schematic illustration of a system for reducingunwanted gases in indoor air including a plurality of air treatmentassemblies according to some embodiments of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 8 is a simplified schematic illustration of a system for reducingunwanted gases in indoor air including a plurality of air treatmentassemblies for a plurality of indoor spaces, respectively, according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 9-15 show several schematic illustrations of embodiments ofsettings in which the air treatment assembly disclosed herein may beassociated with other air management systems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIGS. 1A and 1B are simplified schematic illustrations of a system 100for reducing unwanted gases in indoor air of an enclosed environment 102at a first operational mode and a second operational mode according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure, respectively.

The enclosed environment 102 may comprise a commercial environment orbuilding; an office building; a residential environment or building; ahouse; a school; a factory; a hospital; a store; a mall; an indoorentertainment venue; a storage facility; a laboratory; a vehicle; avessel including an aircraft, a ship, a sea vessel or the cabin of a seavessel; a bus; a theatre; a partially and/or fully enclosed arena; atent; an education facility; a library; and/or other partially and/orfully enclosed structure and/or facility which can be at times occupiedby equipment, materials, live occupants (e.g., humans, animals,synthetic organisms, etc.), etc., and/or any combination thereof.

According to some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprisea plurality of indoor spaces such as rooms, cubicles, zones in abuilding, compartments, railroad cars, caravans or trailers, forexample, and may be referred to as “indoor spaces”.

In some embodiments of the present disclosure, an air treatment assembly110 may be provided to reduce the concentration of contaminantscontained in the airflow introduced therein, thereby removing from theenclosed environment 102 the unwanted gases containing the contaminants.The airflow may be indoor air 114 from the enclosed environment 102.

The air treatment assembly 110 may comprise a housing 112. The indoorair 114 may flow into the housing 112 of the air treatment assembly 110,via an indoor air inlet 120 and may exit the air treatment assembly 110following treatment therein, via an indoor air outlet 124. An indoor airinlet damper 128 may be provided to control the volume of incomingindoor air 114. An indoor air outlet damper 130 may be provided tocontrol the volume of the treated indoor airflow, expelled from the airtreatment assembly 110, into the enclosed environment 102.

In some embodiments, indoor air 114 that enters the air treatmentassembly 110 through the indoor air inlet 120 may be used as a purgingairflow to regenerate adsorbent materials used to adsorb and removegaseous contaminants from indoor air. As such, as shown in FIG. 1E, thesame inlet can be used as an inlet for both indoor air to be treated bythe air treatment system and indoor air to be used as a purging airflow.As discussed with reference to FIG. 1C below, the controller maydetermine whether the incoming indoor air may be used as a purging gasor not. For example, based on gaseous contaminant measurements (of theincoming indoor air and/or the sorbents) as detected by one or moresensors, the controller may determine that the incoming indoor airshould be used as a purging gas or it should be directed to flow throughthe adsorbent of the air treatment system so as to have at least some ofthe contaminants adsorbed by the adsorbent.

In some embodiments, there may be more than one inlets, each configuredto be used as an inlet for indoor air to be treated or scrubbed by theair treatment system or indoor air to be used as a purging airflow. Forexample, as shown in FIG. 1F, an air treatment system may include a pairof inlets, one to receive indoor air for scrubbing and the second toreceive indoor air as a purging gas. In some embodiments, each indoorair inlet may be provided with a damper to control the volume ofincoming indoor air. In some embodiments, some or all of the more thanone inlets may combine into a single inlet. For example, some or all ofthe inlets configured for receiving indoor air to be scrubbed maycombine into a single inlet when joining the air treatment assembly, andditto with the inlets configured for receiving purging indoor airflow.In some embodiments, inlets configured for receiving purging indoor airand indoor air for scrubbing may also be combined into a single inletprior to joining the assembly. For example, as shown in FIG. 1G, aninlet for receiving indoor air for scrubbing by an adsorbent and aninlet for receiving indoor air for use as a purging airflow may becombined into a single inlet prior to joining the air treatmentassembly.

Within housing 112 there may be provided a CO₂ sorbent section 140configured to scrub CO₂ from the indoor air 114 and/or a VOC sorbentsection 142 configured to scrub VOCs from the indoor air 114. Thesorbents including adsorbent materials may also be considered andreferred to as scrubbers. Examples of adsorbent material based scrubbersare disclosed in applicant's U.S. Pat. Nos. 8,157,892 and 8,491,710,which are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties. Thescrubbers may comprise any suitable material for capturing undesiredcontaminants from the indoor air 114 flowing therein. For example, thescrubber may comprise an adsorbent material including a solid support,supporting an amine-based compound, such as disclosed in applicant's PCTapplication PCT/US12/38343, which is incorporated herein by reference inits entirety.

Adsorbent materials may also include, but are not limited to, clays,molecular sieves, zeolites, various forms of silica and alumina, poroussilica, porous alumina, various forms of carbon, activated carbon,carbon fibers, carbon particles, titanium oxide, porous polymers,polymer fibers and metal organic frameworks.

Adsorbent materials selective to VOCs may also include, but are notlimited to molecular sieves, activated carbon, zeolites, carbon fibersand carbon particles, for example.

In some embodiments more than one type of adsorbent material is used.

The CO₂ adsorbent section 140 may include a plurality of CO₂ scrubbingcartridges 146 arranged in any suitable arrangement. For example, theCO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146 may be arranges as parallel plates and/orarranged in a staggered, v-bank formation. This staggered arrangementallows substantially parallel airflow paths of the indoor air 114through the plurality of the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146.

The VOC sorbent section 142 may include one or more VOC scrubbingcartridges 148 arranged in any suitable arrangement. For example, theVOC scrubbing cartridges 148 may be arranges as parallel plates and/orarranged in a staggered, v-bank formation. This staggered arrangementallows substantially parallel airflow paths of the indoor air 114through the plurality of the VOC scrubbing cartridges 148. In someembodiments the VOC scrubbing cartridge 148 has a pleated or otherwisefolded configuration to increase the surface area thereof.

Exemplary scrubbing cartridges and modules are disclosed in applicant'sUS Patent Publication No. 20110198055, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

Additional air treatment functionalities may be employed for removingother contaminants from the indoor air 114, shown in a dashed line. Insome embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may comprise any thinpermeable sheet structure, carbon fibers and/or particles attached to asheet of some other permeable material such as paper, cloth or finemesh, for example, and shown as a filter 156.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may includecatalysts that cause change or decomposition of certain molecules, suchas, for example, VOCs or ozone. Such catalysts may include, but are notlimited to, any of a number of metal oxides or porous heavy metals. Insome embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may include plasma orionizers that generate ions, which in turn can serve to eliminate VOCsor microorganisms. Similarly, ultraviolet radiation can be employed todestroy microorganisms or activate certain catalytic processes.

Operation of the air treatment assembly 110 may comprise an adsorptioncycle, i.e. an adsorption mode (also known as a scrub cycle), as shownin FIG. 1A, and a regeneration mode (also known as a purge cycle orpurge mode), as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C. The operation of the airtreatment assembly 110 may be cyclic by alternating between theadsorption mode, the regeneration mode and/or any other mode,repeatedly.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured toadsorb the contaminants during the adsorption cycle and the adsorbentmaterial may be regenerated during the regeneration cycle. The airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured to repeatedly alternate atleast between the adsorption cycle and the regeneration cycle.

During the scrub cycle (FIG. 1A), the contaminants are captured andadsorbed by the adsorbent material or any other means. A portion of theindoor air 114 may be urged by an airflow element provided for directingthe indoor air to flow into the air treatment assembly 110. The airflowelement may comprise, for example, a fan 158 or a blower. The indoor air114 may flow into the air treatment assembly 110, via indoor air inlet120 and air inlet damper 128, when positioned at least partially in anopen state. The indoor air inlet 120 may be formed with a grille.

The fan 158 may be placed in any suitable location within the housing112, such as upstream in a “push” mode, i.e. intermediate the indoor airinlet 120 and CO₂ adsorbent section 140. Alternatively, as seen in FIG.1A, the fan 158 may be placed downstream in a “pull” mode i.e. after theCO₂ adsorbent section 140.

The rate and/or volume of the indoor air 114 flowing into the airtreatment assembly 110 may be controlled by the fan 140 and/or air inletdamper 128, or by any other suitable means.

In some embodiments a portion of a volume of the indoor air 114 may bedirected into the air treatment assembly 110 for treatment thereof. Thevolume of the indoor air 114 may comprise a reference volume which mayinclude the overall volume of the indoor air within the enclosedenvironment 102 or the indoor spaces therein. In a non-limiting example,when the enclosed environment 102 is a room (e.g. a classroom, a lecturehall), the reference air volume is the overall volume of the indoor airwithin the room.

In some embodiments, about 1%-50% of the indoor air reference volume maybe directed into the air treatment assembly 110 during a predeterminedtime period (e.g. an hour, day etc.). In some embodiments, about 1%-25%of the indoor air reference volume may enter the air treatment assembly110 during a predetermined time period. In some embodiments, about1%-10% of the indoor air reference volume may enter the air treatmentassembly 110 during a predetermined time period.

The indoor air 114 may flow through the filter 156, CO₂ adsorbentsection 140 and/or the VOC adsorbent section 142. The now scrubbed airmay flow out of the air treatment assembly 110 via the indoor air outlet124 and indoor air outlet damper 130, when positioned, at leastpartially, in an open state. The indoor air outlet 124 may be formedwith a grille.

The treated air exiting the air treatment assembly 110 may be expelledinto the enclosed environment 102.

According to some embodiments of the present disclosure, the airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured to operate independently, i.e.without association with an air management system or disconnectedly froman air management system. For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a standaloneair treatment assembly may be located within an enclosed space for usein reducing unwanted gases in the indoor air. The inlet(s) for indoorair to be scrubbed and indoor air to be used as purging gas airflowterminate inside the enclosed space and as such receive indoor air forsuch purposes. In some embodiments, an outlet for exhaust purgingairflow may terminate outside the enclosed space so as to discard theexhausted purging airflow.

An air management system may comprise a system which circulates indoorair and conditions indoor air. Conditioning indoor air may comprisechanging the temperature and/or humidity of the indoor air. The airmanagement system may comprise an air conditioning system, such as aHeating, Ventilation and Air-Conditioning (“HVAC”) system which mayinclude a centralized air conditioning system, a fan-coil system, and/ora unit-ventilator system. The centralized air conditioning systemgenerally includes ductwork for flow of the indoor air therein to an airhandling unit which conditions the air therein. The conditioned airflows out of the air handling unit to the enclosed environment, therebycirculating the indoor air. The fan-coil system generally includes afan-coil unit comprising a fan for drawing the indoor air and heatingand cooling coils for conditioning the air and returning the conditionedair to the enclosed environment, thereby circulating the indoor air. Theair conditioning system may also comprise fresh air ducts forintroducing fresh, unconditioned air into the enclosed environment. Theair conditioning system may also comprise one or more air exhausts(which may include corresponding ducts; and may also be referred to asone or more outlets) for exhausting air out of the enclosed environmentfor maintaining the pressure equilibrium within the enclosedenvironment. Various embodiments of settings in which the air treatmentassembly 110 may be associated with other air management system areshown in FIGS. 9-16.

According to some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 of thepresent disclosure is configured to direct the indoor air thereinwithout being dependent on the ducts and/or fans of the air managementsystem. Thus the air treatment assembly 110 may operate in an enclosedenvironment that is not equipped with an air management system. The airtreatment assembly 110 may also operate in an enclosed environment thatis equipped with an air management system, yet the air treatmentassembly 110 operates independently and discontentedly from the airmanagement system.

The air treatment assembly 110 is formed with its fan, such as fan 158and its inlets and outlets, such as indoor air inlet 120 and indoor airoutlet 124 for operation thereof independently of an air managementsystem. In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 comprisesits controller 254 for controlling the operation of the air treatmentassembly 110, as will be further described.

Treating the indoor air 114 within the air treatment assembly 110 byscrubbing the contaminants therefrom may be greatly advantageous formaintaining good air quality.

In some embodiments, good air quality may include air with a CO₂concentration of less than 2500 ppm. In some embodiments, good airquality may include air with a CO₂ concentration of less than 2000 ppm.In some embodiments, good air quality may include air with a CO₂concentration of less than 1500 ppm. In some embodiments, good airquality may include air with a CO₂ concentration of less than 1000 ppm.

Following the capture and scrubbing of the contaminants in theadsorption cycle, the adsorbent material may be regenerated during theregeneration cycle by urging the release of the contaminants from theadsorbent material.

The regeneration may be performed in any suitable manner. For example,in some embodiments, regeneration may be performed by streaming a purgegas 160 (FIGS. 1B and 1D) over and/or through the adsorbent material forrelease of at least a portion of the contaminants therefrom. In someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may be exhausted out of the enclosedenvironment 102. During the regeneration cycle, the purge gas 160 mayflow into the air treatment assembly 110, via a purge gas inlet 170,such as a purge air inlet or purge valve. The purge gas inlet 170 may beassociated with a purge gas inlet damper 176. The purge gas 160 may flowinto the air treatment assembly 110 when the damper 176 is positioned,at least partially, in an open state, while the air inlet damper 128 andair outlet damper 130 may be closed. An additional fan 178 may beprovided for urging flow of the purge gas 160 into the air treatmentassembly 110. The fan 178 may be placed in any suitable location, suchas in proximity to a purge gas exhaust 180. Alternatively, the fan 178may be omitted, such as when fan 158 may be used for directing the purgegas 160 into the air treatment assembly 110. The purge gas 160 may exitfrom the air treatment assembly 110, via purge gas exhaust 180 and apurge gas exhaust damper 182. The purge gas exhaust 180 may comprise apurge air outlet for expelling the purge gas 160 out of the airtreatment assembly.

Purge gas inlet damper 176 may be provided to control the volume of thepurge gas 160 entering the air treatment assembly 110 and purge gasexhaust damper 182 may be provided to control the volume of the purgegas 160 exiting therefrom.

Thus, in some embodiments, it is seen that switching the air treatmentassembly 110 operation from the adsorption cycle to the regenerationcycle may be performed by the dampers and/or fans or any other suitablemeans.

In accordance with some embodiments the purge gas 160 comprises purgeair.

The purge air may be provided to the air treatment assembly 110 from anysource of air, such as outdoor air. For example, the source of outdoorair may be ambient air flowing directly from the outdoor ambient, i.e.outside the enclosed environment 102, into the air treatment assembly110, as shown in FIGS. 1A-B, 2A-B, 3A-B, 4A-B and 5A-5B. Alternatively,the outdoor air may flow from the ambient environment into the airtreatment assembly 110 via ducts (not shown). Additionally, the sourceof outdoor air may be from other locations in the enclosed environment102, such as from an enclosed environment pier. In some embodiments, thesource of the purge air may be indoor air from the enclosed environment,as shown in FIGS. 1C-D, 2C, 3C, 4C and 5C.

In some embodiments, the purge air may be provided to the air treatmentassembly 110 from air already circulating in the enclosed environment102. For example, a portion or all of indoor air 114 that flows into theair treatment assembly 110, via indoor air inlet 120 and air inletdamper 128 when positioned at least partially in an open state, may beredirected so as to serve as purge air. Referring to FIG. 1C, in someembodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may comprise a switch 193for determining the direction of flow of the incoming indoor air 114.For example, during the adsorption mode of the air treatment system whenat least one gaseous contaminant is adsorbed by an adsorbent material,the switch 193 may direct the flow of indoor air 114 for treatment bythe air treatment assembly 110 as shown in, for example, FIG. 1A. Insome embodiments, the air treatment system may be in a regeneration modeto regenerate the adsorbent material by the removal of at least aportion of the at least one gaseous contaminant adsorbed by theadsorbent material. In such embodiments, the switch 193 may divert theindoor air 114 to serve as a purge air during the regeneration cycle ofthe air treatment system.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 of the air treatment assembly110 may determine whether the indoor air 114 should serve as a purgeair. In some embodiments, such determinations may be made based onindoor air 114 quality measurements as performed by sensors 256 locatedin any suitable location within the enclosed environment 102 or inproximity thereto so as to obtain the measurements. The sensors 256 maybe configured to generate output data that can be transmitted to thecontrol system or controller 254 for processing thereof upon detectionof some concentration of contaminants, substances, gases, etc., in theindoor air 114 that exceeds a threshold for utilizing the indoor air 114as a purge air. In some embodiments, the controller 254 may beconfigured to instruct the switch 193, upon receiving such information,to not allow the indoor air 114 to be diverted as a purge air.

In some embodiments, a closed loop return path may be used to recyclepurging gas airflow after the purging gas has been used to regeneratethe adsorbents by flowing through the adsorbents. For example, as shownin FIG. 1H, a closed loop return path may return exhaust purge pasairflow back into the inlet for indoor purge gas so that the recycledpurging gas airflow may be used again to regenerate the adsorbent(s) inthe air treatment assembly. In some embodiments, whether to recycle apurging gas airflow or not may be determined by the controller based onpurging gas airflow contaminant level measurements obtained from one ormore sensors associated with the air treatment system. For example, ifthe gaseous contaminant level in the exhausted purging gas airflow isbelow some threshold level, then the exhausted purging airflow may bereused as purging gas airflow by returning it back into the purging gasinlet via the closed loop return path. In some embodiments, the closedloop return path may be provided with dampers to control the flow of theexhausted purge gas airflow into and out of the closed loop.

Although FIG. 1H shows a closed loop return path connecting the inletand outlet of indoor air, in some embodiments, the inlet for indoor airto be scrubbed and the outlet for releasing the treated air may also beconnected via another closed loop return path. Such a path may be used,for example, to rerun the treated air through the air treatmentassembly. For example, based on a reading from one or more sensors, itmay be determined (e.g., by a controller) that the contaminant level ofthe treated air is still above some threshold or acceptable value. Insuch embodiments, the treated air to be exited through the outlet forreleasing treated air may instead be recycled back into the airtreatment assembly via the indoor air inlet and may be scrubbed again bythe adsorbents.

In some embodiments, with reference to FIG. 1D, the purge gas 160comprising the purge air may be different than the indoor air 114 thatis allowed into the air treatment assembly 110 via the air indoor inlet120. For example, during the regeneration cycle of the air treatmentassembly 110, the purge gas inlet 170 may be configured to allow theflow of air circulating in the enclosed environment 102 into the airtreatment assembly 110 as a purge air. In some instances, the purge gasinlet 170 may be located inside the enclosed environment 102 so as toallow the inflow of such purge air into the air treatment assembly 110that comprises a low threshold of contaminant level. An example of a lowthreshold comprises some fraction of the average contaminant level inthe air circulating in the enclosed environment 102 as measured by thesensors 256.

In some embodiments, the purge air may be provided to the air treatmentassembly 110 from air flowing through the purge gas exhaust 180. Duringthe regeneration mode of the air treatment system, purge gas 160 may beused to remove contaminants and regenerate the adsorbent, andconsequently discharged through purge gas exhaust 180. As such, thepurge gas 160 exiting through the purge gas exhaust 180 may contain anelevated level of contaminants, for example, compared to the purge gas160 entering the air treatment assembly 110. In some instances, thepurge gas 160 exiting through the purge gas exhaust 180 may beredirected via a channel 194 to join the purge gas inlet 170.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 of the air treatment assembly110 may determine whether the redirected exhaust purge gas 160 should berecycled to be used as a purge air. In some embodiments, suchdeterminations may be made based on exhaust purge gas 160 qualitymeasurements as performed by sensors 256 a located in along the channel194 or in proximity thereto so as to obtain the measurements. Thesensors 256 a may be configured to generate output data that can betransmitted to the control system or controller 254 for processingthereof upon detection of some concentration of contaminants,substances, gases, etc., in the exhaust purge gas 160 that exceeds athreshold for recycling the exhaust purge gas 160 as a purge air. Insome embodiments, the controller 254 may be configured to instruct thechannel 194, upon receiving such information, to not allow the exhaustpurge gas 160 to be diverted as a purge air.

In some embodiments, in-situ regeneration, namely without having to movethe adsorbent material out of the air treatment assembly 110, or partsof the air treatment assembly 110, can be facilitated by a combinationof heat and a flow of a purge gas 160, which may be outdoor air, forexample. In a non-limiting example, the outdoor air contains a CO₂concentration of less than 1000 ppm. In a non-limiting example, theoutdoor air contains a CO₂ concentration of less than 600 ppm. In anon-limiting example, the outdoor air contains a CO₂ concentration ofless than 400 ppm.

In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may flow during the regenerationcycle in the opposite direction of the indoor air flow during theadsorption cycle, such as from purge gas inlet 170 to the purge gasexhaust 180, such as shown in FIGS. 1A-8. Alternatively, the purge gas160 may flow during the regeneration cycle in the same direction of thereturn airflow, such as from purge gas exhaust 180 to purge gas inlet170.

In some embodiments, purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 maybe formed as a conduit or duct, as shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, or in anyother suitable manner. In other embodiments, the purge gas inlet 170 andpurge gas exhaust 180 may be formed as apertures allowing the purge gas160 to flow therethrough, as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. In someembodiments, the purge gas inlet 170 may have at least one openinginside the enclosed environment 102 for allowing in indoor air to serveas purge air, as shown in FIG. 2C.

In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 exiting the purge gas exhaust 180may be discharged into the ambient environment outside the enclosedenvironment 102. In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may flow out ofthe purge gas exhaust 180 to existing exhaust ducts in the enclosedenvironment 102, such as an air exhaust, typically furnished in abathroom of the enclosed environment 102 or openings such as windows.Additionally, purge gas 160 exiting the purge gas exhaust 180 may flowto a volume in the enclosed environment 102, such as a stairwell,sewerage system or smoke control system. Moreover, purge gas 160 may bedirected to flow into a pressure vessel (not shown) for eventual releaseof the purge gas 160 therefrom.

The purge gas 160 may be heated prior to regeneration of the airtreatment assembly 110 by any suitable heating element 190. The heatingelement 190 may comprise, for example, a coil such as an electricalcoil, a radiator, a heat pump, a solar heater or an appropriately sizedfurnace burning water, gas or other fuel (not shown) for heating thepurge gas 160. In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may be heatedwithin the air treatment assembly 110. In some embodiments, the purgegas 160 may be heated prior to flow into the air treatment assembly 110.

In accordance with some embodiments, the purge gas 160 may be heated toa temperature within a range of about 20-120° C. In accordance with someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may be heated to a temperature of lessthan 80° C. In accordance with some embodiments, the purge gas 160 maybe heated to a temperature of less than 50° C. In accordance with someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may enter the air treatment assembly 110at the ambient temperature of the ambient environment outside theenclosed environment 102.

Regeneration of the adsorbent material removes the contaminants from theadsorbent material. Therefore, the air treatment assembly 110 can berepeatedly used for removing contaminants from the enclosed environment102 without requiring replacement of the adsorbent material.Accordingly, the air treatment assembly 110 has a significantly longoperating life. In a non-limiting example, the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges146 and/or VOC scrubbing cartridges 148 may operate for about a year,two years or three years, due to the regenerability thereof by the purgegas 160. In a non-limiting example, the air treatment assembly 110 mayoperate for 10-20 years. If necessary, the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146and/or VOC scrubbing cartridges 148 may be replaced as will be furtherdescribed.

In some embodiments after the significantly long operating life, theadsorbent materials may chemically or physically deteriorate.Accordingly, the CO₂ scrubbing cartridges 146 or VOC scrubbingcartridges 148 may be configured to be removable from the air treatmentassembly 110. The removed scrubbing cartridges may be restored orreplaced with operating scrubbing cartridges and may be returned to theair treatment assembly 110. The housing 112 may comprise access doors192 allowing easy accessibility to any one of the CO₂ scrubbingcartridges 146 or VOC scrubbing cartridges 148. The access doors 192 maybe placed at any suitable location within the housing 112.

The air treatment assembly 110 may be placed in any suitable locationwithin the enclosed environment 102. In accordance with some embodimentsof the present disclosure, the air treatment assembly 110 may treat theindoor air 114 independently of an air conditioning system. Accordingly,the air treatment assembly 110 may be located within the enclosedenvironment 102 at any convenient location wherein there is access topurge gas 160. Some exemplary locations for placement of the airtreatment assembly 110 within the enclosed environment 102 are shown inFIGS. 1A-8.

As seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted under a ceiling 200 within the enclosed environment 102 and maybe affixed thereto by any suitable means.

The purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed in anysuitable manner for allowing the purge gas 160, such as outdoor air,indoor air, recycled exhaust purge air, to flow in to purge gas inlet170 and out of purge gas exhaust 180. The access to outdoor air may beby any suitable means, such as by providing conduits, such as flexibleconduits, in contact with a source of outdoor air in the ambientenvironment 204. In some embodiments, the contact with the source ofoutdoor air may be provided by utilizing outdoor air accesses existingin the enclosed environment 102, such as a window 206. In someembodiments, purge outdoor air access may be from a vent, or an enclosedenvironment pier. In some embodiments, access to indoor air may beprovided by a purge gas inlet 170 that terminates with an opening withinthe enclosed environment 102. In some embodiments, the purge gas inlet170 opening may be formed with a grille. In some embodiments, the flowof indoor air into the purge gas inlet 170 to serve as purge air may becontrolled via purge gas inlet damper and/or a fan. In some embodiments,the purge gas exhaust 180 may expel the purge gas 160 (i.e. the purgeair) from the air treatment assembly 110, via window 206 as shown inFIG. 1B, and thereout into the ambient environment 204. In someembodiments, the purge gas 160 may be expelled from the air treatmentassembly 110 to a bathroom in the enclosed environment, or any otherlocation and thereout into the ambient environment 204. In someembodiments, purge gas 160 flowing through purge gas exhaust 180 may berecycled to be used as a purge air via the channel 194 in a mannerdescribed above, for example.

In FIGS. 2A and 2B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted to awall 208 of the enclosed environment 102, wherein a portion of the airtreatment assembly 110 may be placed in the enclosed environment 102 anda portion may protrude into the ambient environment 204. In someembodiments the wall 208 may be an exterior wall where one side of thewall is in the enclosed environment 102 and the other side of the wallis in the ambient environment 204. As seen in FIG. 2A, during theadsorption cycle, the indoor air 114 may enter the air treatmentassembly 110 via the indoor air inlet 120 and damper 128, and may flowthrough filter 156, CO₂ sorbent section 140 and/or the VOC sorbentsection 142 and out the air treatment assembly 110, via indoor airoutlet 124 and damper 130 back into the enclosed environment 102.

As seen in FIG. 2B, during the regeneration cycle, the regeneratingoutdoor air of the purge gas 160 may enter the air treatment assembly110 from the ambient environment 204, via purge gas inlet 170, and maybe heated by the heating element 190. In some embodiments, theregenerating air of the purge gas 160 may enter the air treatmentassembly 110 from the enclosed environment 102, the purge gas exhaust180, etc., via purge gas inlet 170 or channel 194, and may be heated bythe heating element 190. The purge gas 160 may flow through VOC sorbentsection 142, the CO₂ sorbent section 140, and/or filter 156 forcontaminant removal therefrom. The purge gas 160 exits the air treatmentassembly 110, via purge gas exhaust 180, to the ambient environment 204.A damper set 212 may be provided, similar to dampers 176 and 182 in FIG.1B.

As seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted to wall 208 within the enclosed environment 102 and may beaffixed thereto by any suitable means.

The purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed in anysuitable manner for allowing the purge gas, such as outdoor air, indoorair, recycled exhaust purge air, etc., to flow into purge gas inlet 170and out of purge gas exhaust 180. As seen in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the airtreatment assembly 110 is partially placed in the ambient environment204 and therefore there is easy access to regenerating outdoor air whichcan readily enter the purge gas inlet 170 and exit the purge gas exhaust180. In some embodiments, the regenerating air may be obtained fromindoor air via the indoor air inlet 120, recycled from the purge gasexhaust 180, and/or indoor purge gas inlet 170.

In FIGS. 3A and 3B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted inproximity to a floor 220 or on the floor 220 of the enclosed environment102, wherein the air treatment assembly 110 is placed in the enclosedenvironment 102. As seen in FIG. 3A, during the adsorption cycle, theindoor air 114 may enter the air treatment assembly 110 via indoor airinlet 120 and damper 128 and may flow through filter 156, CO₂ sorbentsection 140 and/or the VOC sorbent section 142 and out the air treatmentassembly 110 via indoor air outlet 124 back into the enclosedenvironment 102.

As seen in FIG. 3B, during the regeneration cycle, the outdoor air ofthe purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110 from the ambient204, via purge gas inlet 170 and may be heated by heating element 190.In some embodiments, the indoor purge gas 160 may enter the airtreatment assembly 110 from the enclosed environment 102, via the indoorair inlet 120, the purge gas indoor inlet 170 a, etc., and may be heatedby heating element 190, as shown in FIG. 3C, for example. A portion ofthe air treatment assembly 110 may protrude from wall 208 or any otherlocation allowing outdoor air to flow therein. The purge gas 160 mayflow through VOC sorbent section 142, the CO₂ sorbent section 140,and/or through filter 156 for contaminant removal therefrom. The purgegas 160 exits the air treatment assembly 110, via the purge gas exhaust180 and damper set 212 to the ambient environment 204.

As seen in FIGS. 3A and 3B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted in proximity to a floor 220 or on the floor 220 within theenclosed environment 102 and may be affixed to the floor 220 by anysuitable means, such as via an attachment means 222 attaching the airtreatment assembly 110 to the floor 220.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be placed on thefloor 220 distally from wall 208 and access to regenerating outdoor air160 may be achieved in any suitable manner, such as via conduits placedat a window, for example.

In FIGS. 4A and 4B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted tothe wall 208 of the enclosed environment 102 and may be at a distancefrom the floor 220 (FIG. 3A) or ceiling 200 (FIG. 1A). As seen in FIG.4A, during the adsorption cycle, the indoor air 114 may enter the airtreatment assembly 110 via the indoor air inlet 120 and damper 128 andmay flow through filter 156, CO₂ sorbent section 140 and/or the VOCsorbent section 142 and out the air treatment assembly 110, via indoorair outlet 124 and damper 130 back into the enclosed environment 102.

As seen in FIG. 4B, during the regeneration cycle, the outdoor air ofthe purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110 from the ambientenvironment 204 via purge gas inlet 170 and damper 176 and may be heatedby heating element 190, placed within purge gas inlet 170. In someembodiments, the purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110from the enclosed environment 102, the purge gas exhaust 180, etc., viapurge gas inlet 170 or channel 194 and damper 176 and may be heated byheating element 190, placed within purge gas inlet 170, as shown in FIG.4C, for example. The purge gas 160 may flow through VOC sorbent section142, the CO₂ sorbent section 140, and/or filter 156 for contaminantremoval therefrom. The purge gas 160 may exit the air treatment assembly110, via the purge gas exhaust 180 and damper 182 to the ambientenvironment 204.

As seen in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the air treatment assembly 110 may bemounted to wall 208 at any location thereon within the enclosedenvironment 102 and may be affixed thereto by any suitable means, suchas via an attachment means 226 attaching the air treatment assembly 110to the wall 208.

The purge gas inlet 170 and purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed in anysuitable manner for allowing the purge gas, such as outdoor air, indoorair, recycled exhaust purge air, etc., to flow into purge gas inlet 170and out of purge gas exhaust 180. As seen in FIGS. 4A and 4B, wall 208may be formed with bores 224 for inserting the purge gas inlet 170 andpurge gas exhaust 180 therethrough for allowing a portion of the purgegas inlet 170 and/or purge gas exhaust 180 easy access to regeneratingoutdoor air. In some embodiments, the regenerating air may be obtainedfrom indoor air via the indoor air inlet 120, recycled from the purgegas exhaust 180, and/or indoor purge gas inlet 170.

In FIGS. 5A and 5B the air treatment assembly 110 is shown mounted inwindow 206 of the enclosed environment 102, wherein a portion of the airtreatment assembly 110 is placed in the enclosed environment 102 and aportion is placed in the ambient environment 204. As seen in FIG. 5A,during the adsorption cycle, the indoor air 114 may enter the airtreatment assembly 110, via the indoor air inlet 120 and damper 128, andmay flow through filter 156, CO₂ sorbent section 140 and/or the VOCsorbent section 142 and out the air treatment assembly 110, via indoorair outlet 124 and damper 130, back into the enclosed environment 102.

As seen in FIG. 5B, during the regeneration cycle, the outdoor air ofthe purge gas 160 enters the air treatment assembly 110 from the ambient204, via purge gas inlet 170 and may be heated by the heating element190. In some embodiments, the purge gas 160 enters the air treatmentassembly 110 from the enclosed environment 102, the purge gas exhaust180, etc., via purge gas inlet 170 or channel 194, and may be heated bythe heating element 190, as shown in FIG. 5C, for example. The purge gas160 may flow through VOC sorbent section 142, the CO₂ sorbent section140, and/or filter 156 for contaminant removal therefrom. The purge gas160 may exit the air treatment assembly 110, via purge gas exhaust 180and damper set 212 to the ambient environment 204.

The air treatment assembly 110 may be inserted within a casing 234. Insome embodiments the casing 234 may be affixed to the window 230 and theair treatment assembly 110 may be removably inserted within the casing234. Weather sealing strips 240 may be provided to seal the enclosedenvironment 102 from the ambient environment 204.

As seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the air treatment assembly 110 may be placedwithin window 206 and may be affixed thereto by any suitable means, suchas via attachment means or by placing the air treatment assembly 110 onthe window sill 244. In this embodiment the air treatment assembly 110may be used to treat the indoor air 114 without altering any structuralcomponent of the enclosed environment 102. Accordingly, the airtreatment assembly 110 may be placed by any laymen in the enclosedenvironment 102 without requiring any mechanical attachments or minimalmechanical attachments which are easily installable.

The purge gas inlet 170 and/or purge gas exhaust 180 may be formed inany suitable manner for allowing the purge gas 160, such as outdoor air,indoor air, recycled exhaust purge air, etc., to flow into purge gasinlet 170 and out of purge gas exhaust 180. As seen in FIGS. 5A and 5B,the air treatment assembly 110 is partially placed in the ambientenvironment 204 and therefore there is easy access to regeneratingoutdoor air, which can readily enter the purge gas inlet 170 and exitthe purge gas exhaust 180. In addition, the purge gas inlet 170 orchannel 194 can allow the purge gas 160 to enter the air treatmentassembly 110 from the enclosed environment 102, and exit via the purgegas exhaust 180.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be portable tofacilitate changing its location with minimal installation work.Portability can be facilitated by any number of means. In someembodiments the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured as aportable unit with wheels or casters to roll easily over floors orsurfaces and facilitate mobility. For example, as shown in FIG. 6, theair treatment assembly 110 may be configured as portable unit 245 placedon a portable base 246 with wheels 248. In some embodiments, the airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured with an electric cord and plugor any other electrical connections 250 suitable for electricalcommunication with indoor electrical wall sockets 252. In someembodiments, the purge gas inlet 170 and/or purge gas exhaust 180 may beformed as flexible or collapsible conduits which may be extended towardsa window, a plenum or any suitable exhaust area for exhausting the purgegas 160 exiting the air treatment assembly 110. The air treatmentassembly 110 of FIG. 6 may operate as describe in any one of theembodiments of FIG. 1A-5C.

Thus it is seen that according to some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly 110 may be configured to be portable and configured with simpleelectrical connections adapted to easily connect to any standardelectrical sockets and may be also configured for repeated use due tothe regeneration of the adsorbent materials with outdoor air. Theportability of the air treatment assembly 110 allows its use for a shortduration or temporarily, (e.g. an evening, a few days, weeks or months)such as in enclosed environments 102 used for events or in venues.Additionally, the portability of the air treatment assembly 110 allowseasy transfer of the air treatment assembly 110 from one enclosed spaceto another within the enclosed environment 102 or from one enclosedenvironment 102 to another enclosed environment 102.

Thus it is seen that in some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110may be configured to be easily installable in any enclosed environment102 and configured with simple electrical connections adapted to easilyconnect to any standard electrical sockets and may be also configuredfor repeated use due to the regeneration of the adsorbent materials withoutdoor air and/or indoor air.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be installed inenclosed environments 102 in addition to an existing air managementsystem within the enclosed environment 102, yet independently from theair management system without any connection to the air managementsystem.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured tobe installed in relatively small areas, such as classrooms of smalloffices, homes and buildings, for example, which are not large enoughfor large scale installations of air-conditioning systems and theductworks which air-conditioning systems typically comprise.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 may be configured tobe modular such that more than one air treatment assembly 110 may beinserted in the enclosed environment 102. The number of air treatmentassemblies 110 may be determined according to the contamination level inthe indoor air 114. In some embodiments, a plurality of air treatmentassemblies 110 may be provided, as shown in FIG. 7, within the enclosedenvironment 102 and their operation may be selected according to thecontamination level. For example, when the contamination level is high,all air treatment assemblies 110 may be operated and when thecontamination level is lower, some of the air treatment assemblies 110may discontinue their operation. A controller 254 may be provided tocontrol the operation of the plurality of air treatment assemblies 110.

In some embodiments, controller 254 may be a central controllerconfigured to control the operation of a plurality of air treatmentassemblies 110, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. In some embodiments,controller 254 may be configured to control a single air treatmentassembly 110, as shown in FIGS. 1A-6.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprise aplurality of the indoor spaces 255 (e.g. rooms), as shown in FIG. 8, anda single or plurality of air treatment assemblies 110 may be provided.The central controller 254 may be provided to control the operation ofthe plurality of air treatment assemblies 110. The air treatmentassembly 110 of FIGS. 7 and 8 may operate as describe in any one of theembodiments of FIG. 1A-5C.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprise abuilding with a single or plurality of rooms. The rooms may be humanoccupied. The air treatment assembly 110 may be partially placed withinthe volume of the room where the humans are present and partially placedin the ambient environment 204 out of the building, such as shown inFIGS. 2A-3B, 5A, 5B, 7 and 8. In some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly 110 may be placed within the volume of the room where thehumans are present and may comprise access to the ambient environment204 out of the building, such as shown in FIGS. 1A, 1B, 4A, 4B and 6.The air treatment assembly 110 may be placed in any suitable location inthe volume of the room, such mounted to the ceiling 200, wall 208,placed in proximity or on the floor 220, or in window 206, for example.The indoor air 114 within the room may flow directly, i.e. from thevolume of the room, into the indoor air inlet 120 without first flowingthrough ducts or plenum. The treated air exiting the air treatmentassembly 110 may be expelled back into the volume of the room forproviding the human occupants therein with good quality air.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 lacks a controlledsupply of ventilation outdoor air, such as a machine controlled supplyof ventilation outdoor air. A machine controlled supply of ventilationoutdoor air may comprise the air management system, as described above,wherein the control of fresh air for ventilation, originating from theambient environment 204, is typically controlled, such as by mechanicalcomponents or electrical components. In the absence of such ventilation,indoor air quality is likely to deteriorate over time as gascontaminants build up and may not be removed effectively. The airtreatment assembly 110 may be configured to remove at least the portionof the at least one gaseous contaminant from this enclosed environment102, thereby providing good quality air where there is a lack of supplyof ventilation outdoor air.

It is noted in reference to FIGS. 1A-8, that any other suitable meansbesides dampers, such as valves, fans, blowers, or shutters, may be usedto control the volume of air entering and/or exiting the air treatmentassembly 110 and any components may be used for directing the indoor air114 into the air treatment assembly 110.

In some embodiments of the systems shown in FIGS. 1A-8, a single orplurality of sensors 256 may be provided to detect levels of one or morecontaminants, substances, gases (such as CO₂ and other gases), fumes,vapors, (such as VOCs) and/or any combination thereof. The sensors 256may be placed in any suitable location within the enclosed environment102 or in proximity thereto. Upon detection of a particularconcentration of such contaminants, substances, gases, etc., thesensor(s) 256 may be configured to generate output data that can betransmitted to the control system or controller 254 for processingthereof.

The controller 254 may be operative to control any one or more of: theduration of time the adsorption cycle and the regeneration cycle, thevolume of air flowing into the air treatment assembly 110 for scrubbingthereof, the volume of purge gas flowing into the air treatment assembly110 for regeneration of the adsorbent material, and switching of the airtreatment assembly 110 from the adsorption cycle to the regenerationcycle and vice versa.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 may be designed to control theduration and air volume during the adsorption cycle and the regenerationcycle and switching of the air treatment assembly 110 from theadsorption cycle to the regeneration cycle and vice versa, according toa preset schedule, or by sensing a predetermined level of thecontaminants by the sensors and accordingly operating the adsorptioncycle or regeneration cycle, or by determining an occupancy level of theenclosed environment 102 and, accordingly, operating the adsorptioncycle or regeneration cycle, for example. The duration or volume duringthe adsorption cycle or regeneration cycle and switching therebetweenmay be controlled by a manual trigger or by externally signaled commandsor any other suitable means.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 (i.e. a controller system) maybe provided for controlling at least the cyclic operation of theadsorption mode and the regeneration mode by controlling the at leastone airflow element.

In some embodiments, the controller 254 may be designed to activate theair treatment assembly 110, and/or control the operations of the switch193 and/or the channel 194 in response to actual contaminant levels,occupancy, or preset schedules.

In some embodiments the controller 254 may be an electrical controlsystem.

According to some embodiments, the air treatment assembly 110 of thepresent disclosure is configured to scrub contaminants from indoor airin an enclosed environment 102 which may have insufficient airventilation means, such as inadequate access to ventilation outdoor airfor example. Scrubbing the contaminants from the indoor air 114 of aninsufficiently ventilated enclosed environment 102 provides for good airquality. The air treatment assembly 110 may comprise access toregenerating outdoor air for regenerating the adsorbent material. Sincethe regenerating outdoor air is provided for regenerating the adsorbentmaterial, a relatively small volume of regenerating outdoor air may berequired, less than required for sufficient ventilation of the enclosedenvironment 102, and access to regenerating outdoor air may be limitedto the regeneration cycle time period. Therefore the air treatmentassembly 110 is configured to scrub contaminants from indoor air in theenclosed environment, which may have inadequate access to ventilationoutdoor air.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may contain airventilation means yet due to relatively high human density therein thestandard air ventilation may be insufficient and thus the amount ofindoor contaminants may not be adequately managed by standardventilation. In a non-limiting example, a classroom with high studentdensity may have higher than acceptable levels of CO₂ constituting goodair quality. Scrubbing the contaminants from the indoor air 114 of aninsufficiently ventilated enclosed environment 102 provides for good airquality.

In some embodiments, the enclosed environment 102 may comprisesufficient means for standard, outside air ventilation for maintaininggood air quality, yet reducing the contaminants in the indoor air 114within the air treatment assembly 110 allows reducing the volume offresh, outdoor air which is required for maintaining good air qualitywithin the enclosed environment 102. Accordingly, the energy required tocondition (i.e. change the temperature and/or humidity level) theoutdoor air is reduced.

In some embodiments, in an enclosed environment 102 wherein the indoorair 114 is conditioned by radiation and/or other heating (or cooling)methods, it is desired to minimize the introduction of ventilatingoutdoor air, which would require much energy for conditioning theventilating outdoor air. In a non-limiting example, wherein the enclosedenvironment 102 is in a cold climate and heating of the indoor air 114is performed by a radiation heater, a furnace, a gas heater or any othersuitable heating system, it is preferable to minimize introduction ofoutdoor air for ventilation. In accordance with the present disclosure,scrubbing the contaminants within the air treatment assembly 110 ensuresthe good quality of the indoor air is maintained while minimal or novolume of ventilating outdoor air is required.

In some embodiments, reducing the content of contaminants present in theenclosed environment 102 by scrubbing within the air treatment assembly110 is more desirable than outside air ventilation for avoiding orminimizing introduction of potential pollutants and contaminants fromthe outdoor air into the enclosed environment 102.

In some embodiments, for example, as shown in FIG. 9, the air treatmentassembly can be configured to operate as a standalone system withoutassociation with external air management system. In some embodiments,however, the air treatment assembly may be operably coupled with otherair management systems such as heating, ventilating and air-conditioning(HVAC) systems. An example embodiment of such an arrangement where thedisclosed air treatment assembly is operably coupled to a HVAC systemcomprises an air handling unit (AHU) is shown in FIG. 10. The HVACsystem can be configured to provide air circulation to the enclosedspace to which it is connected. The HVAC system may further include anair handling unit (“AHU”), which may have both heating and coolingelements that modify temperature of the circulating air as it air flowsand comes in contact with these elements. The HVAC system can furtherinclude air intake duct(s) connected to the AHU via circulation linesthat allow intake of outside and/or indoor air into the system, the airtreatment assembly and/or the AHU. In some embodiments, the HVAC systemcan also include exhaust duct(s) that receive return air and expunge itas an exhaust air into an external environment (e.g., after flowingthrough the air treatment assembly (for example, as a purging air)). Insome embodiments, the HVAC system may also include scrubbers to at leastreduce contaminants in the air flowing through the scrubbers. Forexample, scrubbers may be included in the HVAC system by incorporatingthem in the circulation lines and/or the AHU.

In some embodiments, the scrubbers or adsorbents may be regenerated torelease the adsorbed contaminants into a purging air (e.g., indoor airintroduced as purging air as described elsewhere in the instantdisclosure) used to regenerate the adsorbents. Regeneration can beachieved by a combination of heating, purging, pressure change,electrical energy, and/or any combination thereof. In some embodiments,the release of adsorbed contaminant substances can be achieved by acombination of heating and purging with purging gas (e.g., indoor air).The cycle of adsorption and regeneration can be run periodically, forexample at predetermined times, and/or as necessary (for example, upondetection of adsorption of a particular substance or a specific amountof a substance). In such examples, sensors may be used to determine ifthe concentration of contaminants has exceeded a threshold amount. Asanother example, sensors may be used to detect particular types ofcontaminants (and the adsorption-regeneration cycle may be initiatedwith or without regard to the amount of the contaminants). In someembodiments, the length of time that each cycle can be performed maydepend on the substance adsorbed/purged, time that it takes toadsorb/purge a substance or a particular amount of the substance,interior conditions, exterior conditions, type of the enclosed space,energy usage, environmental regulations, commercial factors, and/or anyother factors.

Further details of a standalone air treatment system and an HVAC systemincluding an AHU are disclosed in applicant's PCT Publication No.WO/2014/078708 and U.S. Pat. No. 8,491,710, respectively, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

With reference to FIG. 11, in some embodiments, the air treatmentassembly and the AHU may be configured and assembled as a singleintegrated system, resulting in an air treatment system that is reducedin size and cost. This may also facilitate the installation of theintegrated system within an air management system, in comparison toinstalling two separate units—the AHU and the air treatment assembly.Additionally, in some embodiments, the components of the AHU may beutilized to operate the air treatment assembly and vice versa, therebyimproving the efficiency of the adsorption of contaminants from theindoor air. As discussed in the instant disclosure, indoor air may flowinto the air treatment assembly via indoor air inlets (e.g., indoor airmay enter the AHU first and then enter the air treatment assembly fromthe AHU) and may exit the assembly via indoor air outlets, where thevolume of incoming and outgoing air may be controlled via dampers. Insome embodiments, the expelled air (e.g., scrubbed or treated air) maybe released into the AHU, and in the case of exhaust may be releasedoutside the indoor space.

In some embodiments, the now treated air may be directed to flow out ofthe air treatment assembly (e.g., via a feed and indoor air outletdamper). The treated air may combine with untreated indoor air (e.g.,return air in FIG. 11 that didn't enter the assembly) and/or any makeupair if provided (e.g., outside air) and may then be directed to flowthrough the AHU. At the AHU, in some embodiments, the air may beconditioned (e.g. cooled or heated) by a conditioning element such as aheater, cooler, etc. The combined air may be directed to exit the AHU ofthe integrated system via an AHU indoor air outlet and damper, which maybe positioned in an open state. The combined air can thereafter beintroduced into the enclosed space as supply air. During a regenerationphase, a purging gas, (e.g., an indoor air as discussed with respect toFIGS. 1E-1H) may flow into the integrated system to regenerate theadsorbents in the air treatment assembly and/or AHU.

In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly may be configured tointercept and receive only a portion of the indoor air flowing withinthe AHU. In some embodiments, between about 1% to about 50%, about 3% toabout 25%, about 5% to about 15%, including all values and sub ranges inbetween, of the indoor airflow may be diverted to the air treatmentassembly, and a remainder of the indoor air can bypass the assembly.Further details of an HVAC system including an AHU are disclosed inapplicant's PCT Publication No. WO/2014/047632, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

With reference to FIGS. 12A-B, in some embodiments, the disclosed airtreatment system may be configured to be operably coupled to an airmanagement system that includes air circulation units such as fan-coilunits. The fan-coil unit may comprise a housing including a fan andcoils and adsorbents. The coils may be cooled or heated by a fluid,examples of which include water or fluid supplied by a VariableRefrigerant Flow (VRF) system. The coils may comprise a cooling coiland/or a heating coil and/or any other suitable cooling or heatingmeans, such as radiators, electrical heaters, chillers, heat exchangers,nozzles or jets, for example. The fan may draw the scrubbed air from theair treatment assembly to enter into the fan-coil unit, and flow thescrubbed air in the vicinity of coils for conditioning (e.g., heating orcooling) thereof. The conditioned air may be released into the indoorspace and may eventually return back to the air treatment assembly unitas an indoor air (to be scrubbed or be used as a purging gas airflow asdisclosed herein). In some embodiments, the air treatment assembly andthe fan-coil unit may be in the vicinity of each other (e.g., FIG. 12A),and the transfer of indoor air between the two units may take place viaa conduit. In yet other embodiments, the air treatment assembly and thefan-coil unit may not be close to each other (e.g., FIG. 12B), and thetransfer of indoor air between the two units may take place though theindoor space. Fan coil units may be placed within a room or space,typically within a recess in the ceiling or walls of the room. Further,a fan coil unit may be placed in a plenum adjacent to the room. In someembodiments, the circulating indoor air flows between the fan-coil unit,the air treatment assembly and the room substantially without relianceon ducts (i.e. a ductless supply). In some embodiments, the fan-coilunit may be operationally coupled to at least one additional airtreatment component such as an air ionizer, an ozone source, a source ofradiation, a membrane, foam, paper, fiberglass, a heater, a particlefilter, an ultraviolet anti-microbial device, an ion or plasmagenerator, an oxide, a catalyst or a chemical catalyst. In some cases,the additional air treatment component may be placed within the fan-coilunit. As another example, the additional air treatment component may beplaced within the indoor space. In some embodiments, the treated indoorair may flow out of the fan-coil unit via a duct and the additional airtreatment component may be placed within the duct. Further details of anHVAC system including air circulation units such as fan-coil units aredisclosed in applicant's PCT Publication No. WO/2013/074973, which isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

With reference to FIG. 13, in some embodiments, the disclosed airtreatment system may be configured to be operably coupled to an airmanagement system that includes a heat pump for heating purging gasairflow and/or adsorbent material of the air treatment assembly. In someembodiments, the heat pump may use fluids and compressors in a closedchiller loop of condensation and evaporation, also referred to as a“condenser-evaporator loop”, so as to move heat opposite its usualdirection, namely removing heat from a lower temperature evaporatorregion and adding heat to a higher temperature condenser region. In thisway, a heat pump can act to continuously cool the ambient environment ina cold region (i.e. the evaporator side or cold side) while heating theambient in a warmer region (the condenser side or warm side). Viewed asa refrigerator or chiller, it enables the cooling of indoor air belowits surrounding temperature; viewed as a heater, it delivers heat whereneeded. For example, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, air (indoor airto be scrubbed or used as purging airflow) may be received at the heatpump to be conditioned (e.g., heated or cooled) and then directed intothe air treatment assembly via the inlets. For instance, a heatedpurging gas airflow may be flown through the adsorbent of the airtreatment assembly to facilitate the regeneration of the absorbentduring the adsorption-regeneration cycle of the assembly. In someembodiments, the heat pump may be configured to remove heat fromcirculating air and concurrently heat the purge gas.

In some embodiments, a heat pump may be installed in the air treatmentsystem embodiment depicted in FIG. 10, i.e., a heat pump may also beoptionally included to an air treatment system including an airtreatment assembly and a HVAC having an AHU. A schematic of such anarrangement is shown in FIG. 13. In some embodiments, the heat pump maybe a heat pump within an HVAC system. Further details of air treatmentsystem including a heat pump are disclosed in applicant's PCTPublication No. WO/2014/015138, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

With reference to FIG. 14, in some embodiments, the disclosed airtreatment system may be configured to be operably coupled to a heatexchanger that is configured to facilitate thermal communication betweenthe incoming indoor airflow and the exhausted purging airflow exhaustedoutside the indoor space. The incoming indoor airflow may be indoor airdesignated for purging air. The thermal communication may include anytype of heat transfer, such as by contact, convention or conduction, forexample. In a non-limiting example, the heat exchanger assembly maycomprise a shell and tube configuration, an air coil configuration, aplate configuration, a fin configuration or a counter-flowconfiguration. In some embodiments, the heat exchange may be facilitatedby having the conduits carrying the incoming indoor air and the exhaustpurging air to run in parallel and in close thermal communication overan extended length of these conduits. Thermal communication can beassisted by increasing a shared surface area of the parallel conduits.In some embodiments, the two conduits may be arranged so that theincoming indoor air and the exhaust purging air flow in oppositedirections, substantially increasing the heat exchange rate. The heatedindoor air may then be transported by a conduit into the air treatmentassembly via an indoor air inlet. Such a heated air may be used toregenerate the adsorbent as discussed throughout the instant disclosure,while the exhaust purge air may be released outside the indoor space orit may be reused to heat additional indoor air if its temperature isstill elevated enough (e.g., above the ambient temperature or thetemperature of the incoming indoor air).

In some embodiments, the heat exchanger may be configured to transferheat from the exhausted purging airflow to the incoming purging airflowin an amount approximately equal to H given by the expressionH=(T_(e)−Ti)×E×F, wherein E is an efficiency coefficient of the heatexchanger, F is a flow rate of the incoming purging airflow, Ti is thetemperature of the incoming indoor air (e.g., incoming purging indoor),and T_(e) is the temperature of the exhausted purging airflow. Thesystem may further comprise a fan to at least aid in the flow of indoorair and/or the purging airflow. In some embodiments, sensors may be usedto determine when to allow thermal communication between the incomingpurging air and outgoing exhausted air. For example, a temperaturesensor may be used to determine when T_(e)>T_(i), so that thermalcommunication may be allowed and heat may be transferred from theexhaust to the incoming purging air (e.g., indoor purging air). Furtherdetails of air treatment system including a heat exchanger are disclosedin applicant's PCT Publication No. WO/2015/042150, which is incorporatedherein by reference in its entirety.

With reference to FIG. 15, in some embodiments, the disclosed airtreatment system may be configured to operate within enclosed cabinspaces of a transportation system such as those in vehicles, ships,aircrafts, and/or the like. In particular, such confined places may haveelevated CO₂ levels from high levels of human/animal occupancies, andthe air treatment assembly may be configured to remove CO₂ from cabinair. In some embodiments, an air treatment assembly may be providedwithin a cabin to reduce the concentration of contaminants such as CO₂contained in cabin air. The air treatment assembly may be configuredwith cabin air inlets for receiving cabin air for scrubbing duringadsorption mode or as a purging airflow during regeneration mode. Insome embodiments, air treatment assembly may be configured with cabinair outlets provided for releasing scrubbed or treated cabin air out ofthe air treatment assembly. For example, an outlet may be configured toreturn the airflow back into the cabin after passing over and/or throughan adsorbent material during the adsorption mode. Similarly, in someembodiments, an outlet may be configured to direct exhaust purge aircontaining contaminants such as CO₂ out of the assembly and into theexhaust system of the transportation system (e.g., vehicles, ships,aircrafts, etc.) during regeneration mode.

In some embodiments, sensors may be provided to detect properties of thecabin air, such as a CO₂ sensor. The CO₂ sensor may be arranged withinthe cabin space of, for example, the passenger car or submarine, such asnear the cabin air inlet and/or cabin air outlet or any suitablelocation for detecting the CO₂ concentration within the cabin air beforeand/or after scrubbing thereof in the air treatment assembly. The sensormay be configured to generate a signal corresponding to a CO₂concentration within the cabin air and transmit the signal to thecontroller system 254. The controller system 254 may, according to thereceived signal, activate the air treatment assembly 254. For example,the controller system 254 may be configured to receive the cabin CO₂signal and control the operative mode of the air treatment systemaccording to the concentration of CO₂ in the cabin air. Further detailsof air treatment system within enclosed cabin spaces such astransportation systems are disclosed in applicant's PCT ApplicationPublication Nos. WO/2014/153333 and WO/2014/176319, which areincorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

Various implementations of some of embodiments disclosed, in particularat least some of the processes discussed (or portions thereof), may berealized in digital electronic circuitry, integrated circuitry,specially configured ASICs (application specific integrated circuits),computer hardware, firmware, software, and/or combinations thereof.These various implementations, such as associated with the controller254, for example, may include implementation in one or more computerprograms that are executable and/or interpretable on a programmablesystem including at least one programmable processor, which may bespecial or general purpose, coupled to receive data and instructionsfrom, and to transmit data and instructions to, a storage system, atleast one input device, and at least one output device.

Such computer programs (also known as programs, software, softwareapplications or code) include machine instructions/code for aprogrammable processor, for example, and may be implemented in ahigh-level procedural and/or object-oriented programming language,and/or in assembly/machine language. As used herein, the term“machine-readable medium” refers to any computer program product,apparatus and/or device (e.g., non-transitory mediums including, forexample, magnetic discs, optical disks, flash memory, Programmable LogicDevices (PLDs)) used to provide machine instructions and/or data to aprogrammable processor, including a machine-readable medium thatreceives machine instructions as a machine-readable signal. The term“machine-readable signal” refers to any signal used to provide machineinstructions and/or data to a programmable processor.

To provide for interaction with a user, the subject matter describedherein may be implemented on a computer having a display device (e.g., aLCD (liquid crystal display) monitor and the like) for displayinginformation to the user and a keyboard and/or a pointing device (e.g., amouse or a trackball, touchscreen) by which the user may provide inputto the computer. For example, this program can be stored, executed andoperated by the dispensing unit, remote control, PC, laptop,smart-phone, media player or personal data assistant (“PDA”). Otherkinds of devices may be used to provide for interaction with a user aswell. For example, feedback provided to the user may be any form ofsensory feedback (e.g., visual feedback, auditory feedback, or tactilefeedback), and input from the user may be received in any form,including acoustic, speech, or tactile input. Certain embodiments of thesubject matter described herein may be implemented in a computing systemand/or devices that includes a back-end component (e.g., as a dataserver), or that includes a middleware component (e.g., an applicationserver), or that includes a front-end component (e.g., a client computerhaving a graphical user interface or a Web browser through which a usermay interact with an implementation of the subject matter describedherein), or any combination of such back-end, middleware, or front-endcomponents.

The components of the system may be interconnected by any form or mediumof digital data communication (e.g., a communication network). Examplesof communication networks include a local area network (“LAN”), a widearea network (“WAN”), and the Internet. The computing system accordingto some such embodiments described above may include clients andservers. A client and server are generally remote from each other andtypically interact through a communication network. The relationship ofclient and server arises by virtue of computer programs running on therespective computers and having a client-server relationship to eachother.

Any and all references to publications or other documents, including butnot limited to, patents, patent applications, articles, webpages, books,etc., presented anywhere in the present application, are hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

Example embodiments of the devices, systems and methods have beendescribed herein. As may be noted elsewhere, these embodiments have beendescribed for illustrative purposes only and are not limiting. Otherembodiments are possible and are covered by the disclosure, which willbe apparent from the teachings contained herein. Thus, the breadth andscope of the disclosure should not be limited by any of theabove-described embodiments but should be defined only in accordancewith claims supported by the present disclosure and their equivalents.Moreover, embodiments of the subject disclosure may include methods,systems and devices which may further include any and allelements/features from any other disclosed methods, systems, anddevices, including any and all features corresponding to translocationcontrol. In other words, features from one and/or another disclosedembodiment may be interchangeable with features from other disclosedembodiments, which, in turn, correspond to yet other embodiments.Furthermore, one or more features/elements of disclosed embodiments maybe removed and still result in patentable subject matter (and thus,resulting in yet more embodiments of the subject disclosure). Alsowithin the scope of some of the embodiments of the present disclosure isthe specific lack of one or more features that may be present in theprior art. In such embodiments, patentable claims may include negativelimitation to indicate such lack of one or more features taught in theprior art in, for example, any one or more of certain disclosedapparatuses, systems, and methods.

1. An air treatment system, comprising: an air treatment assemblyhaving: one or more air inlets configured to receive airflow from anenclosed environment; a regenerable adsorbent material; at least oneairflow element for directing the airflow to flow through the airtreatment assembly; an indoor air outlet for expelling the airflow,treated by the regenerable adsorbent material, from the air treatmentassembly; and a purge air outlet for expelling a purging airflow out ofthe air treatment assembly; wherein the air treatment system isconfigured to operate cyclically in at least two modes, an adsorptionmode wherein: a first air inlet of the one or more air inlets isconfigured to receive indoor airflow from the enclosed environment, andthe regenerable adsorbent material is configured to adsorb at least onegaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, and a regenerationmode wherein: a second air inlet of the one or more air inlets isconfigured to receive indoor airflow as the purging airflow, the purgingairflow configured to regenerate the regenerable adsorbent material byremoving at least a portion of the at least one gaseous contaminantadsorbed by the regenerable adsorbent material; wherein the second airinlet is the same as the first air inlet, and a controller system forcontrolling at least the cyclic operation of the adsorption mode and theregeneration mode cycle by controlling the at least one airflow element.2. (canceled)
 3. An air treatment system, comprising: an air treatmentassembly having: one or more air inlets configured to receive airflowfrom an enclosed environment: a regenerable adsorbent material; at leastone airflow element for directing the airflow to flow through the airtreatment assembly; an indoor air outlet for expelling the airflow,treated by the regenerable adsorbent material, from the air treatmentassembly; and a purge air outlet for expelling a purging airflow out ofthe air treatment assembly; wherein the air treatment system isconfigured to operate cyclically in at least two modes, an adsorptionmode wherein: a first air inlet of the one or more air inlets isconfigured to receive indoor airflow from the enclosed environment, andthe regenerable adsorbent material is configured to adsorb at least onegaseous contaminant contained in the indoor airflow, and a regenerationmode wherein: a second air inlet of the one or more air inlets isconfigured to receive indoor airflow as the purging airflow, the purgingairflow configured to regenerate the regenerable adsorbent material byremoving at least a portion of the at least one gaseous contaminantadsorbed by the regenerable adsorbent material, wherein the first airinlet and the second air inlet join to form a single air inlet forreceiving indoor airflow into the air treatment assembly, and acontroller system for controlling at least the cyclic operation of theadsorption mode and the regeneration mode cycle by controlling the atleast one airflow element.
 4. The air treatment system of claim 1,further comprising a closed loop return path for connecting the purgeair outlet to the second air inlet so that at least a portion of theexpelled purging airflow re-enters the air treatment assembly via thesecond air inlet.
 5. The air treatment system of claim 4, furthercomprising one or more sensors for measuring a concentration of gaseouscontaminant in the expelled purging airflow, wherein an amount of theportion of the expelled purging airflow is determined by the controllersystem based on a measurement of the one or more return path sensors. 6.The air treatment system of claim 5, further comprising a return pathairflow element, wherein the controller system is configured to controlthe amount of the portion of the expelled purging airflow using thereturn path airflow element.
 7. The air treatment system of claim 1,wherein the indoor air outlet expels the treated airflow into theenclosed environment.
 8. The air treatment system of claim 1, furthercomprising a fan-coil unit operationally coupled to the air treatmentassembly and located within or adjacent to the enclosed environment,wherein the indoor air outlet is configured to expel the treated airflowso as to direct the treated airflow into or towards the fan-coil unit.9. The air treatment system of claim 1, further comprising an airhandling unit (AHU) operationally coupled to the air treatment assemblyand configured to at least one of heat and cool the treated airflow,wherein the indoor air outlet is configured to expel the treated airflowso as to direct the treated airflow into or towards the AHU.
 10. The airtreatment system of claim 1, further comprising an air handling unit(AHU) configured to at least one of heat and cool the treated air,wherein the air treatment assembly is arranged within AHU.
 11. The airtreatment system of claim 1, further comprising one or more sensors formeasuring a concentration of the at least one gaseous contaminant and/ordetecting a presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant, whereinthe one or more sensors are configured to generate a signalcorresponding to the concentration of the at least one gaseouscontaminant and/or the presence of the at least one gaseous contaminant,and transmit the signal to the controller system.
 12. The air treatmentsystem of claim 1, wherein the at least one airflow element comprises atleast one of a fan, a blower, a damper and a shutter.
 13. The airtreatment system of claim 1, wherein the air treatment assembly isconfigured as a portable unit.
 14. The air treatment system of claim 1,further comprising a heat source for heating the purging airflow, theheat source selected from the group consisting of: a heat pump, afurnace, solar heat, an electrical coil and hot water.
 15. The airtreatment system of claim 1, wherein the at least one gaseouscontaminant is selected from the group consisting of: carbon dioxide,volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, sulfur oxides, radon, ozone,nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide.
 16. The air treatment system ofclaim 1, wherein the adsorbent material comprises at least one of:activated carbon, carbon particles, solid amines, solid supported amine,molecular sieves, porous silica, porous alumina, carbon fibers, metalorganic frameworks, porous polymers and polymer fibers.
 17. The airtreatment system of claim 1, further comprising a heat exchangerconfigured to transfer heat from the purging airflow exiting the airtreatment assembly to an indoor air incoming as a fresh purging airflow.18-22. (canceled)
 23. An air treatment method, comprising: receivingindoor airflow from an enclosed environment through an indoor air inlet;directing the indoor airflow by at least one airflow element to flowthrough a regenerable adsorbent material; adsorbing, during anadsorption mode, at least one gaseous contaminant contained in theindoor airflow by the regenerable adsorbent material; expelling theindoor airflow treated by the adsorbent material via an indoor airoutlet; receiving and directing, during a regeneration mode, indoor airas an incoming purging airflow over and/or through the adsorbentmaterial for removal of at least a portion of the at least one gaseouscontaminant adsorbed by the adsorbent material, the incoming purgingairflow being received and directed over and/or through the adsorbentmaterial via the indoor air inlet; expelling the purging airflow out ofthe adsorbent material; and controlling at least an operation of theadsorption mode and/or the regeneration mode by controlling at least oneairflow element.
 24. (canceled)
 25. The air treatment method of claim23, wherein the incoming purging airflow is further received anddirected over and/or through the adsorbent material via a purgingairflow inlet separate from the indoor air inlet.
 26. The air treatmentmethod of claim 23, further comprising returning at least a portion ofthe expelled purging airflow back into the incoming purging airflow viaa closed loop return path configured to connect the expelled purgingairflow with the incoming purging airflow.
 27. The air treatment methodof claim 23, wherein the expelled indoor airflow treated by theadsorbent material is transferred to a fan-coil unit located within oradjacent to the enclosed environment.
 28. The air treatment method ofclaim 23, wherein the expelled indoor airflow treated by the adsorbentmaterial is transferred to an air handling unit (AHU) configured to atleast one of heat and cool the treated airflow.
 29. The air treatmentmethod of claim 23, further comprising measuring a concentration of theat least one gaseous contaminant and/or detecting a presence of the atleast one gaseous contaminant with one or more sensors, and transmittinga signal generated by the one or more sensors and corresponding to theconcentration of the at least one gaseous contaminant and/or thepresence of the at least one gaseous contaminant to a controller system.30. The air treatment method of claim 23, further comprisingfacilitating thermal communication of the expelled purging airflow withthe incoming purging airflow so as to effect transfer of heat betweenthe expelled purging airflow and the incoming purging airflow.
 31. Theair treatment method of claim 23, further comprising heating the purgingairflow using a heat source selected from the group consisting of: aheat pump, a furnace, solar heat, an electrical coil and hot water. 32.The air treatment method of claim 23, wherein the at least one gaseouscontaminant is selected from the group consisting of: carbon dioxide,volatile organic compounds, formaldehyde, sulfur oxides, radon, ozone,nitrous oxides and carbon monoxide.
 33. The air treatment method ofclaim 23, wherein the adsorbent material comprises at least one of:activated carbon, carbon particles, solid supported amine, molecularsieves, porous silica, porous alumina, carbon fibers, metal organicframeworks, porous polymers and polymer fibers.
 34. The air treatmentmethod of claim 23, wherein the at least one airflow element comprisesat least one of a fan, a blower, a damper and a shutter.